Robert F Kennedy Jr Makes Shocking Spousal Abuse Claims

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has detailed a long-list of incidents in secret court papers, claiming he was a victim of abuse at the hands of his estranged wife Mary Richardson Kennedy. And so where the children.

The stunning revelations come in an extensive article about Mary Richard’s descent into suicide in Newsweek magazine. But already some suspect it’s an attempt by Kennedy to rehabilitate his reputation.

The court documents claim Mary was abusive toward his children from an earlier marriage and violently attacked him. He’s filed a series of restraining orders against her leading up to her death by hanging. She allegedly often threatened suicide in front of the kids, he claims.

Mary was struggling with debt after Kennedy cut his financial support for his family and she was reportedly drinking heavily in her final days.

The magazine said Mary searched the Internet on how to make a noose and asked her housekeeper’s husband to buy some rope. She said it was for a sofa she was making.

She hung herself in a barn May 16 at the family’s estate in Bedford, New York. The couple’s four children were not at home at the time. Kennedy was still legally married to his wife, even though he was dating actress Cheryl Hines.

Kennedy married Emily Ruth Black in 1982 and had two children: Robert Francis Kennedy III and Kathleen Alexandra Kennedy.

His relationship with Mary began with an affair. He divorced in March 1994, and one month later he married Richardson, a long-time friend of the family, who was pregnant with his child.

Mary was reportedly violent even before the marriage, according to the court papers.

“Soon after Mary became pregnant with our first son, Mary, in a sudden rage about my continued friendship with [my ex-wife] Emily, hit me in the face with her fist,” Robert said in the documents.

“She was a trained boxer and I got a shiner. Her engagement ring crushed my tear duct causing permanent damage … Mary asked me to lie to her family about the cause of my shiner,” he claimed.

On one occasion, he said his wife struck him more than 30 times, including in front of their children. In another instance she allegedly threatened him with scissors while he was in the bathtub.

Both Robert and Mary each suffered from addictive personalities, Newsweek noted. Kennedy was arrested for heroin possession in 1983.

Mary, of course, is no longer here to defend herself, and overshadowing Kennedy’s allegations are well known divorce tactics in which spouses make outlandish claims against each other in an effort to gain leverage in court.

Mary’s family is locked in a bitter feud with the Kennedy’s and even sued to try to gain custody of her body before the funeral. They obviously feel his behavior contributed to hers.

Kennedy has admitted to multiple affairs in sealed divorce records, but he claims his wife drove him to cheat. Whether the affairs were the cause of strife or the result, will never be conclusively known.

About The Author

TheImproper Staff

Keith Girard is Editor and Publisher of TheImproper, New York City’s cutting edge arts, entertainment pop culture and lifestyle Web magazine. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of Billboard magazine and a reporter for the Washington Post among other media positions.